Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov/79

Contributor - Marti VanderMarel

Title - Who Speaks For The Children?

Topic - Children

The well-known actor, Dick Van Dyke describes in his book, Those Funny Kids! a situation in which a Brooklyn teacher asked her first graders if they knew anything about Mother's Day. A boy replied, "This is the day on which we forgive our mothers for what they do to us the rest of the year." I chuckled to myself after reading this and then began thinking about the adult reaction to the question; do you know anything about International Year of the Child? Some may answer as the child in the classroom did, "The time when we forgive our children for what they do to us for the rest of our lives!" Let us look at what International Year of the Child (IYC) is and what its purpose is.

International Year of the Child is a year in which the well-being of today's children is actively advocated in all countries of the world. On December 21, 1976, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a Resolution declaring 1979 to be the year chosen. the UN invites the world community (including the Church Community) to "renew and reaffirm its concern for the present condition and the future of its children." It is hoped that this year will promote raising the level of services to children on a permanent basis. This would also include education and informational activities in each country to help shape public opinion and stimulate government action to increase the funds devoted to children's programmes domestically or in other countries.

The purpose of IYC is four fold. Its major aims are to:

*encourage all countries rich and poor, to renew their programmes for the well being of children and to mobilize support for national and local action programmes according to each country's conditions, needs and priorities;

*heighten awareness of children's special needs among decision makers and the public;

*spur specific, practical measures - with achievable goals - to benefit children in both short and long term on the national level;

*provide an opportunity to emphasize the intellectual, psychological and social development of children in addition to their physical welfare!

Despite the appallingly large number of Children suffering from Malnutrition in Underdeveloped countries, there remain vast numbers of children in this country who lack the Basic necessities of life. It is to this country and its close neighbours that I wish to focus on. This also includes our churches as a denomination and a part of the universal Christian Church.

The majority of readers of this publication probably come in contact with children every day, whether it is your own children, children in the classroom playground, or Sunday School. You see that their daily needs of food, clothing, and shelter must be met. However, if you've ever come in contact with children or even adults who are not given those daily requirements, you begin to realize not only how thankful you are but also how unjust is really is and what must be done to meet those needs. In our Western Culture the disadvantaged children face unjustifiable welfare such as unfair treatment, abandonment, poor housing, children of unwed mothers, children exposed to drugs and crime, malnutrition and abuse. Children also suffer from physical and mental handicaps which can be caused by improper pre-natal or post-natal care by the parent. I was recently involved in a case involving a newborn infant of 3 weeks that has a defective heart, extra fingers, pyloric stinosis and was born with no anus. One could say that some babies are simply born with such abnormalities or that God must have willed it. In this case I am sure that God's will for this child is a healthy, happy life but unfortunately the mother had gluesniffed in her first term of pregnancy, unaware that she was pregnant. Children need to be given every opportunity to develop to their full potential, even if it means that doctors, clergy, professional and non-professional people testify in or out of the court of law against a particular parent. It is these basic needs that must be met along with their spiritual, emotional, intellectual and psychological needs.

There are many reasons why children would experience the lack of proper care in a developed, industrial country as ours. I wish to simply touch on a few reasons why it is important for us to be aware of these reasons.

One important reason which affects the majority of North Americans is the lack of support systems and/or extended family. I was recently reminded of this while visiting my extended family in Michigan. My brother, sister-in-law and twin nephews hadn't seen the family in 4 years. My nephews were overjoyed about the prospect of getting to know grandma and grandpa. Even though they have equivalent people near their home miles away, they knew they had a "real grandma and grandpa"! It is very important to have people in your life who will care what happens through the bad and good experiences of life. The consequences of relying heavily on the nuclear family is detrimental, as we see in the case in which a child is badly abused because there were no grandparents, or others, to help and take over when tensions become unbearable.

Another cause which lads to improper care of children comes when marital and family breakdowns exist. The tendency in these situations is to "blame" the children for marital difficulties. Sometimes it is very subtle as reflected in the parent who consciously or unconsciously refrains from allowing the other partner to visit a child during a separation. This only increases the problem unless that parent would seriously harm the child.

Another reason is life crises and the inability to cope with the crises. This is a common reason why children come into foster homes or the equivalent. People (including myself) often need a lot of space to get their lives in proper order. Sometimes children only complicate the matter and they need to be removed for a short period of time.

There are several more factors that are involved in these problems, however I wish to mention one more. Many people have a lack of nurturing or child rearing practices. One foster parent who works with parents, recently reminded that we are no longer producing large families of 10 or 11 children. Years ago children of these large families where forced to learn child rearing at a very young age. Now we attempt to teach this in the school or in pre-natal courses. An agency such as ours is also attempting to teach parents by having them come to the foster home and actively participate in these nurturing skills.

All of these factors pertain to us through direct or indirect ways. It is important to be aware of problems in your own family and community. Particularly during International Year of the Child, let us each make an attempt to affect your local and national authorities, and to support and be aware of particular programmes.

The newspapers and media have had several articles on IYC and what you can do to help in your area. Read it and respond by writing letters to legislators. Letters to the editor also get quickly read by the provincial or state legislators. Another possible way of helping is by giving financially to IYC or volunteering time working with children. Advocating on the behalf of children is also important especially when there is serious neglect or abuse observed. Being a foster parent is another way to actively assist children. Be aware of new material on child rearing. New evidence of the effects of learning in the first 3 years of life is helpful and important for all of us to be aware of .

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